Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Addicts discussion
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What makes you NOT finish a book?
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Kiersten, Mod
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Apr 11, 2014 04:58PM
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I had this experience just yesterday. It was a romance of 100 pages and it literally went from the h/h meeting each other to "I love you." I went "What??" There was no journey to love, no friction, no personality. DNF.
Terrible writing...if all I can think while I'm reading is "I can write better than this" then I don't finish. And I am definitely not a writer lol.ETA: Also the obvious answer of just being painfully dull.
I was given a book by an autor so I could eventually review it. It´s getting nerve recking because everytime I continue reading it bores me to tears, even worse I´m about 25% percent into it which can be considered enough time to engage a reader.Sadly I just want it to be over or it may be a DNF situation. The characters have close to no personality and if some do it´s very dull. Same with the plot it´s going nowhere. How sad.
Julianne wrote: "Terrible writing...if all I can think while I'm reading is "I can write better than this" then I don't finish. And I am definitely not a writer lol.ETA: Also the obvious answer of just being pain..."
I agree with this one. I can read a book with pretty much no plot whatsoever and it doesn't bother me (actually, I won't even notice until someone else points it out to me) but if the writing is bad, it makes me want to scream.
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I agree with you there. Repetitive dialogue is annoying.
Also when there's way too much sexual and verbal abuse. I can't do it
There has to be a story, not just events happening to a few characters. The main characters can't be passive. If they don't care enough to go out and take control of their own fates, instead of just reacting to events, then I don't care enough to read about them.
Jenn wrote: "Also when there's way too much sexual and verbal abuse. I can't do it"I can't read about child abuse, physical or sexual. I used to read all the abuse memoirs, but since having my own kid, I can't stomach it.
I drop poorly written and edited books fast. I started and never finished a book by a favorite author because I found the main characters unsympathetic.
Main characters with no common sense aggravate me. If you are going to make the same mistake over and over again or make a mistake that everyone you respect tells you is a big mistake, then I lose interest. If you are that dense, you are a train wreck that should be avoided at all costs including as a reader. (Can't the author give the protagonist a more subtle set of problems? I mean I already know where this story is going.)
I drop books that contain obvious factual errors which illustrate extremely poor research on both the writer and the publisher's part.
I also don't read books that contain excessive violence or cruelty. The first Stephen King book I read was "The Dead Zone". The first chapter describes beating a dog to death. I was done after that. I don't want that in my head.
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I agree with that wholeheartedly. No common sense is hard to get past as a reader. If the character does something that no living person would ever reasonably do, it takes me out of the book. Although, I can usually finish the book.
Kiersten wrote: "Moonlight wrote: "Main characters with no common sense aggravate me. If you are going to make the same mistake over and over again or make a mistake that ..."I agree with that wholeheartedly. No ..."
Also agree. I don't like stupid people in life, so why would I want to read about them? Lol...
Lena wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Also when there's way too much sexual and verbal abuse. I can't do it"I can't read about child abuse, physical or sexual. I used to read all the abuse memoirs, but since having my ow..."
I understand. I tried reading a book once after my daughter was born that dealt with spousal and child abuse and it made me physically ill. I stopped watching Law and Order SVU for that reason.
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I could never watch that show because of all the "heinous" undertones. Made me not even want to step outside.
Boredom. If I find myself mentally writing a grocery list of telling myself I should clean something while I have a book in my hands, it's time to close it up and start something else. Generally a book has make me invested within the first few pages. If I'm invested, I read it with gusto. If not, out it goes. Fortunately, those are rare. LoL
the supernatural warrior abilities that did NOT come from life. iF a character can take out three or four antagonists without breaking a sweat, I keep asking myself HOW the skills were manifested. the main character is 'channelling' a 14th Century ninja? HOW would a 14th century ninja know how to use a suppressed MP5 submachine gun and be able to kill 5 bad guys without getting a scratch? things like that and Then I Kinda hear that record scratch and it pushes me right out of the book.[Maybe cause I'm former military]. I like to see it happen naturally...Like in the Movie the Amateur, the guy comes up to the range and fires bullets Downrange. Then as he pulls the target back to him he sees he only hit the target a few times....
If I can put it down and suddenly remember five days later "oh shit I'm supposed to be reading this!" or if it pains me to turn to the bookmark, or if I can't stand reading it for more than a couple of minutes I know it just doesn't have my attention and it needs to be put down.
I can't stand when the protagonist whines about everything in their life. Like, "I just found out I'm a rare supernatural breed that has amazing abilities and powers. Oh, the horror that is my life!" I mean, really? What person in their right mind wouldn't be jumping with joy at their new-found gifts? Or even just finding out there is a supernatural world out there?! I'd be ecstatic! Unless, of course, I was being hunted down by said supernatural world. Then, not so much.
TSTL characters and/or doormats (and the two traits often go together) do it for me every time. I want intelligent adult characters who can actually talk to each other and hold rational discussions about the problem/situation at hand. I'm also not a fan of violent, often explicit "action" which may be a function of me being old. That, along with first person POV, makes me wary of UF.
When I can't feel anything for the characters. Also I don't like when a book gets overly descriptive or too repetitive. In a series I don't like when the next book has half the book as recap of the previous. It makes me feel like why did I even bother reading the first one. I do like a little recap, in case it has been awhile since the previous has been released, just not so much of it.
When I'm making myself dizzy with all the eye rolling.
Carolyn F. wrote: "When I'm making myself dizzy with all the eye rolling."Haha, I do that, too.
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Carolyn F. wrote: "When I'm making myself dizzy with all the eye rolling."This.
When the reading becomes a chore, I tend to not finish. Bad writing and poorly developed characters are my main beef. For example, I was reading a book with a female assassin but the majority of the plot (and the character's internal monologue) was devoted to a ridiculous love triangle and whether she would choose the handsome prince or the honorable soldier. She is a FREAKING ASSASSIN!!! She should be going undercover, plotting revenge, or exacting justice, all of which are more exciting than piddling romance drama. I actually finished this book out of spite, but I am not finishing the series :-[
Sandra J wrote: "TSTL characters and/or doormats (and the two traits often go together) do it for me every time."Haha the TSTL drives me bonkers, sometimes I want to throw my book. Of course I would never injure a book in such a way so instead I imagine beating TSTL person with something heavy. Sadly though, I do carry on reading.
When the novel becomes like a typical thriller action movie during the climax of the story...begins to dry out my interest to finish the book. For example Game by Anders de la Motte Or 50 shades of Gray reminded me too much of a teenager's diary of an immature woman going to work in a corporate office that has secrets behind closed doors...
/Happy Easter to all!
Raquel: Sarah J. Maas Assassin series. the short novellas (Stories) are full to read in order to flesh out the main character's skill-Building.
Mod
LOL! Do you mind me asking which book that was?
What makes a book unreadable? Hmm when it falls in the water? :>Seriously, I have stopped reading a book after a flood. It was unreadable and not good enough to buy it again. Does that count?
There are not many books I've left aside and not finish. I quit reading some for a few but returned to them later.
When I don't return to it, it's usually because I found something better and by the time I could return, the style/story doesn't interest me any more.
Richard wrote: "Raquel: Sarah J. Maas Assassin series. the short novellas (Stories) are full to read in order to flesh out the main character's skill-Building."You guessed it. I liked the whole concept, but the first book should really draw me in to bring me back to read all subsequent novellas and books. And I felt that Throne of Glass kinda failed at that. I might give it another go someday (I hate to leave a series unfinished).
Kiersten wrote: "Raquel wrote: "was devoted to a ridiculous love triangle and whether she would choose the handsome prince or the honorable soldier. She is a FREAKING ASSASSIN!!! She should be going undercover, plo..."Richard guessed it. It was Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, the debut novel of her Assassin Series.
I get tired of the trend I see in a lot of m/m paranormal romance where it just boils down to basicallyHi
Hello
I think you're hot
OMG I think you're hot too!!!
*sex scene*
As a gay man, I must admit I see this as detrimental to the gay community as it seems to me to indicate that all men want is a relationship based purely on lust and sexual needs. I prefer a more meaningful relationship based on feelings and with a nice foundation that really delves into the characters' love for one another. Making them three dimensional and real is tantamount to maintain my interest, and if all they have to offer in regards to being together is simply based in lust alone and not love, I put the book down. I'm an old fashioned romantic, give me the sentimental sappy stuff :)
Chris wrote: "I get tired of the trend I see in a lot of m/m paranormal romance where it just boils down to basicallyHi
Hello
I think you're hot
OMG I think you're hot too!!!
*sex scene*..."
It's not just m/m. F/M is the same way a lot of times.
Yeah, it always annoys me in romance books when two characters end up in this serious relationship in the span of a day. It is completely unrealistic.
The writing, bad writing will turn me off quicker than almost anything. If the writer acts like they don't possess a thesaurus, spends way too much time world building and detailing minute stuff out, creates annoying/unlikable main characters, or have no idea what the basic components of a good story are then I will wander away like kids at the mall. The only time I've ever thrown a book across the room however was a romance novel where the book started out with the guy cheating on his pregnant wife. Classy. I usually love books enough to give them to good homes if I don't like them, but I could have burned that one.
I don't like stupidity I would like some realism in the book. For example I was reading a book and the girl and guy wonder how she got pregnant after doing it like bunnies without protection they didn't think it could happen really.
I really hate first person present tense novels. I picked up a contemporary at the library book sale last week without reading inside it-the blurb and some reviews I had read made it sound like a charming, light read. Just what I wanted-I thought. I actually threw the book last night when I realized the whole freakin' thing was written in first person, present tense. I hate, hate, hate present tense novels. It's going to the UBS as soon as I can get it out of my house.
4 basic things: (1) Predictable plot. (2) overly descriptive writing (3) Lame characters.And lastly, annoying love affair.
When the book starts out great and before you reach the climax the story is so dumb you wonder why you even picked up the book at all!
I can't stand when the characters are shallow and stereotypical. 'Mary Sue' characters. They force me to put a book down and I only go back if I feel guilty enough for not finishing something I started. Either that or slow beginnings, or beginnings that are repetitive. I can't stand reading an entire series where every book is practically identical to the previous one, in pace, in speech, in everything except some details. It makes me grit my teeth and scream!- M.S. Watson, author of Ice
@ M.S. Hmm you shouldn't put the link to your book after such a post. I honestly thought you were citing an example of these kind of books you hate. Just a thought. :P
The infamous info dump. :PI do cringe when I encounter them and tend to skim a bit over it. I hate skimming when I read a book but I also hate quitting before I read the last sentence of the story too, so if skimming gives the book a chance, I try that first.
If I find myself skipping pages and not only skimming anymore, there are chances I will set the book aside.
I believe there is a fine line between directing the readers on the right path and leading them by the hand. It's so much more fun discovering things on our own anyway. :)There is just something special about that moment when you realize why the protagonist/antagonist did or said something, when the puzzle all comes into place. So yes, let the readers wonder a bit, as long as they don't get lost in that wood and never come back. :P
I buy or receive for free a ton of books from Amazon that sound good per the blurb about them. A ton of them are from indie authors, which I really love. However, if a book doesn't catch me within the first 10 chapters, unless I'm really super curious I'll quit reading. And my biggest pet peeve is editing. For heaven's sake...I'll edit the darn thing if you can't find someone who can! Don't publish a book like that. Ugh!
I'm reading a first novel in both a series and I think for the author. In the first 52 pages, 22 characters were introduced. Not counting the pets and dead characters. I started counting because I had to write a character list to keep them all straight. I'm having a lot of trouble getting back into it. Books sometimes fall into 2 categories: those you can't wait to pick up again and those you read while waiting at the airport....because what else are you going to do.
22 characters? Wow. I will put a book down if a character starts doing something against their nature just to move the story along. Characters are what makes a good story a great story. If they aren't consistent, I lose interest quickly.
Sandra J wrote: "I really hate first person present tense novels. I picked up a contemporary at the library book sale last week without reading inside it-the blurb and some reviews I had read made it sound like a ..."I SO Agree!!! I hate first-person present tense like arsenic and hemlock combined.
